Latest From ACLU of Washington

The latest content and updates from the ACLU of Washington website.

Helping Youth Move Forward: Bill Would Keep Juvenile Records Confidential

Published: 
Friday, January 27, 2012
Since the turn of the century, juvenile courts have been separate from adult courts. The goal of juvenile courts, as the Supreme Court recognized over 50 years ago, is to determine how to rehabilitate juveniles and “save [them] from a downward career.” To further these goals, juvenile court records have historically been shielded from public view. This system allows juveniles to enter adulthood without being publicly labeled as criminals.
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Former Student Gains Major Settlement after Enduring Years of Harassment

News Release, Published: 
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A former student who endured severe and persistent harassment throughout junior high and high school has gained a major settlement from the Aberdeen School District. The ACLU has represented Russell Dickerson III in a lawsuit saying that school district officials were aware of the harassment but failed to take steps reasonably calculated to end it.
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GPS Tracking: The Supreme Court Takes a Step for Privacy

Published: 
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The United States Supreme Court on Monday unanimously decided that law enforcement needs a warrant to place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle. We applaud the Supreme Court for ruling correctly that warrantless installation of a GPS device violates the Fourth Amendment.
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Support Civil Liberties in the 2012 Legislature

Published: 
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Four issues top the ACLU-WA’s agenda in the 2012 state legislature: Gaining marriage equality, Legalizing and regulating marijuana, Replacing the death penalty, and Protecting due process rights in legislation addressing gangs. Support our agenda by signing up to GET ALERTS.
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Governor’s Endorsement Boosts Drive for Marriage Bill

Published: 
Thursday, January 5, 2012
At a press conference in Olympia, Governor Chris Gregoire issued a heart-felt endorsement of civil marriage for same-sex couples. The Governor talked of the need for state law to recognize the "love, commitment, partnership, and responsibility" of lesbian and gay couples.
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Standing Up Against Injustice: We Honor the Courage of Gordon Hirabayashi

Published: 
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at University of Washington when bombs fell at Pearl Harbor. Like 112,000 of his fellow Japanese Americans, he would be placed under curfew, ordered into internment, and finally jailed for defying those orders. Forty years later, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated his conviction. On Monday, Hirabayashi died at the age of 93. We here at the ACLU of Washington honor his memory.
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Mortgaged Futures: 30% of Juveniles Arrested

Published: 
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
By the time they’re 23 years old, between 30 and 41 percent of Americans have been arrested, according to a study recently released by the journal Pediatrics.  This number has sharply increased in recent decades; in the mid-1960s, only 22 percent of Americans reported having been arrested by the time they turned 23.
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Groups Urge Mayor to Support Department of Justice Recommendations

Published: 
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The ACLU of Washington and 34 civil rights and community groups are urging Mayor McGinn to embrace the recommendations of the Department of Justice report on excessive use of force by the Seattle Police Department and to include community organizations in discussions to formulate solutions to the longstanding problems pinpointed by the report.  
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ACLU of Washington Responds to Department of Justice Report on Seattle Police Department’s Excessive Use of Force

News Release, Published: 
Friday, December 16, 2011
The in-depth report by the Department of Justice confirms what many people of color and others have experienced – that the Seattle Police Department has engaged in a pattern and practice of excessive use of force. The report documents in detail the concerns that led the ACLU and 34 other community organizations in December 2010 to request that the DOJ conduct this investigation.
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Kudos to the DOJ! Now On to the Hard Work of Reform

Published: 
Friday, December 16, 2011
I returned, very happily, from the Department of Justice press conference this morning. The DOJ’s in-depth report confirms what the ACLU has been saying and what many people of color and others have experienced – that the Seattle Police Department has engaged in a pattern and practice of excessive use of force.
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Public Health Approaches Work: Teen Tobacco and Alcohol Use Falls

Published: 
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Teen marijuana usage rates have risen slightly in recent years, while tobacco and alcohol usage rates have declined. Alarmingly, 12th-graders across the nation and in Washington state are now more likely to have used marijuana in the past 30 days than to have smoked a cigarette.
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520 Tolling Starts Soon, But Your Privacy Is Already Protected

Published: 
Thursday, December 8, 2011
The Washington Department of Transportation announced today that tolling will start on the SR 520 bridge on December 29. This will be Washington’s first all-electronic toll bridge—meaning there will be no toll booths—and by far the highest volume all-electronic toll facilities in the country. There are lots of advantages to eliminating toll booths (e.g., less congestion, greater safety), but there are also drawbacks, potentially including a loss of privacy. 
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